Dear Dad,

I know I never made things super easy for you, considering all of my backtalk, temper tantrums, and emotional rampages. I know I said awful things to you in the heat of arguments that I felt like I couldn't win. I know that at some points, I could not wait to get away and live without your constant rule in college. But this is the moment you have been waiting for: You were right, and I was wrong.

Every time you yelled at me for wearing too much makeup, you could expect a blow up no matter who else was in the room. I thought you were being old fashioned and trying to keep me from growing up. Even when you claimed you were saying it to be nice, I didn't believe you. I thought you didn't want me growing up and were using excuses to justify it. But now, I get it. I get that wearing so much makeup is just covering up my beauty that you always saw. I get that you were just trying to tell me that I was perfect the way I was. For those fights, I am sorry.

Every fight we had about my outfits ended in tears and frustration. Whether I was heading out the door to a middle school dance or prom dress shopping, I always knew that you would never like what I picked out. You would comment that it showed too much skin or would give boys the wrong idea about me. I thought you were being an annoying dad who wasn't progressive enough.

But coming to college, I get it. I get that dressing a certain way gives off certain ideas. I get that as unfortunate as it is, I have to dress modestly if I do not want to receive looks and glances that make me scared and uncomfortable. You were only trying to protect me and teach me a lesson about the cruel realities of the world. For those fights, I am sorry.

Every time you told me I wasn't confident enough, I would always cry. Why couldn't you just see that I had a backbone, whether or not I stuck up to people? Didn't you get that I didn't want drama to deal with, and sometimes I just had to keep quiet? You always told me I let people walk all over me. I never believed you. But now, I get it. I see that people will take advantage of you for being too nice or too accepting. You were only trying to teach me that I need to stand my ground, and be confident in my beliefs and decisions. For those fights, I am sorry.

Every time we got in the car to practice driving, I thought we were going to kill each other. You would yell that I needed to pay better attention and that I was going to get into an accident if I didn't take it seriously. I blew you off as being anxious and frustrated and decided to blast music and drive *somewhat* recklessly after receiving my license.

But now, I get it. After getting into my first, and very bad, accident, I realized you were right all along. After hearing the crashing of metals and being thrown around in the car, I finally get it. When I saw you pull up to the accident scene, I was scared that you were going to yell at me and take my license away. Instead, all you did was hug me and tell me you loved me.

I realized that you weren't trying to stress me out, or scare me into not wanting to drive so you would always get to drive me everywhere. You were trying to save my life. For those fights, I am sorry.

Let's not forget every single fight we have ever had about boys. You always seemed to have a problem with anyone, saying they were never good enough or that I deserved so much better. I thought you were being harsh and judgmental, and that you would never accept anything. But now, I get it. You were only trying to stress how special I am, and how I deserve to have a guy who treats me like I am the only girl in the world. For those fights, I am sorry.

For every single fight we have ever had, you were only trying to prepare me for what the world is truly filled with. Not everyone is as nice and thoughtful as you, and that's why you had to make me aware of the harsh realities that I could unfortunately have to face. Thank you for never failing to make me laugh, cry, and smile whenever I need it.